Reduced Price Guide Thread XIV (FAQ in 2nd Post)

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Dark Rider

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The Reduced Price Guide FAQ/OP has been moved to the SECOND post. Read this first!
[customspoiler="Disclaimer"]
All credit goes to IAmTheCheapestGamer, floormat, and guinaevere. They ran this thread for years, and I can safely say we would not have penny guides here without them. Thanks for your work!
[/customspoiler]

Private message me if there is something incorrect or needs to be changed in the non-wiki pages.
Below is two years or so of guide drop info. If you want to see the full list, please refer to the third post of the Reduced Price Guide Thread XIV that can be found HERE.​

Note that date may be of confirmation, and not of drop.

CE/SE/LE=HARDCOVER GUIDE
Red=Gamestop drop
Blue=Best Buy drop
Pink=Toys R Us drop

 

Recent Drops (Last Six Months)

Dropped 3.23.16 at GameStop

Game Stop 1 Cent

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate CE

Just Cause 3

Halo 5 CE



Dropped on 3.26.14
 

Gamestop

Battlefield 4

Disney Infinity

Grand Theft Auto V

Remember Me

Super Mario 3D World

Dropped on 2.26.14

Gamestop 

Assassin's Creed IV: CE

Battlefield 4 CE
Grand Theft Auto CE

Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds CE

Skylanders Swap Force CE

Wonderful 101

Dropped on 2.14.14

Toys'R Us

Rage
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Mass Effect 3

Star Wars The Force Unleashed II

Dropped on 10.31.13

Gamestop 
 
Animal Crossing
Assassin's Creed 3
Borderlands 2 LE
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Cheat Code Overload: Winter 2013
Codes & Cheats Vol. 1 2013
Dead Island Riptide
Diablo III

Disgaea D2

Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Legendary
Epic Mickey 2
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Halo 4
Hitman Absolution
Injustice: Gods Among Us

Injustice: Gods Among Us LE
Last of Us

Last of Us LE
Lego City Undercover
Madden 25
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Ni No Kuni
Pokemon Black & White 2 Pokedex
Resident Evil 6 LE
Resident Evil Revelations

Wind Waker LE
Dropped on 9.25.13

Gamestop
Army of Two The Devils Cartel
Dead Space 3
Metal Gear Rising Revengence
Star Trek
Super Mario Bros. Wii U
Epic Mickey 2 Limited Ed
Halo 4 Limited Ed
Hitman Absolution Limited Ed

Dropped on 9.04.13

Gamestop
 
Call of Duty Black Ops II CE
DMC: Devil May Cry
Dishonored
Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider CE       
 
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max payne 3 was pennied ? ill go by gamestop and get two or three of them. my friend there will update me on other drops if they happened as well

oh and guys dont get on romeo. he just has some views that are differint from some other people (he rants on me alot lol). im not gonna judge him based on that though :D
 
[quote name='Game Rogue']Not sure what date Max Payne 3 guide was pennied, but my GS connection saved it for me this week.[/QUOTE]

It pennied on Wednesday along with the Guild Wars 2 Hardcover but the OP hasn't been updated.
 
[quote name='OscillatingFerret']FWIW, the Dead island Riptide steelbooks are also "not available for sale" even though the system shows them as $5.[/QUOTE]

This is true but I managed to give them the game sku and still get the steelbook.
 
[quote name='xDerekRx']Ya its depressing to think about. I did Penny guides for probably 5+ years at BB. Never got denied once. Even when bringing large amounts up. Because when they scanned at .01 the young girl at the register would just cash you out no issues.

Its encouraging that people here are still giving it a go and getting lucky. Maybe Ill muster up the desire to try again[/QUOTE]

Same for me, I have been buying penny guides from Best Buy since 2002 and only had 1 problem in all those years. Like you said, since they scanned for a penny it wasn't an issue and now I don't think I want to even bother trying knowing they won't be able to be rung up and the very likely chance of running into a problem. I wonder if its just guides that no longer can be rung up at the register or its all penny items. It's been a while since I have seen anything but they used to mark down movie promo items to a penny after a while too.
 
My buddy and I just hit the jackpot earlier tonight. Went to 3 best buys before this one and they had all pulled the guides at those. I had forgot to buy Argo earlier due to hunting for GoT with the Lannister cover. So we stopped by one more that wasn't too out of the way of our hotel.

Glad we went. We each got 1 of every hardcover except for AC:Rev and I didn't get a Gears 3 one because I have one and really didn't want another.

image_zpsf24d8100.jpg


Neither of us got more than 1 of any guide. Left some copies of them behind. The two guys working were shocked and said they were going to head to the guide section when they close. The guides didn't ring up and the kid helping us had to call over a manager. I did what everyone says and played dumb about the whole thing. Anyways after he checked the prices he just told the guy to give them to us. Walking out the loss prevention guy was like SCORE! :lol:

Thanks again CAG! :D
 
Went to BB that I was at about a month ago and got denied trying to get some older drop penny guides that didn't scan (ie Rage, Syndicate). I was told they needed to send them back to the warehouse and they couldn't sell/give them to. Funny enough they were all just thrown back on the shelf because the same guides I was denied trying to get were there.

Anyway, there were tons of guides that should have been pulled and weren't so I grabbed the (3) that I didn't have (Uncharted 3, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and UFC Undisputed 3). The clerk tries to ring them up and obviously they won't scan. He lets out a "not again" and tells me he has to check with a manager. He comes back like a minute later and says you can take them. So you can add UFC Undisputed 3 to the list I posted a page or so back.
 
[quote name='strait edge follower']my bestbuys wont give me the guides. unlike those entitled people out there i didnt make a big deal out of it :)[/QUOTE]everyone there should be fired
 
Epic denial today at the Gilbert, AZ store.

Had in hand:
Battlefield 3
Kid Icarus
Ghost Recon: FS
Fable
Resident Evil Raccoon City

Every guide gave a popup "Item Not Available for Sale" at the register. An employee came by and took them, saying he would "look in to it." Guy came back and asked how I knew they were pennied, and proceeded to ask if I am a Best Buy employee...

In the same transaction I tried to buy a pre-owned PS3 Black Ops 2 for $37.99 - 10%GCU - $10 @Gamer coupon. They went and got the store manager. He was OK with me getting the sale price and the gamers club discounts. Worst Buy is back!
 
I tried to nab a final fantasy collectors guide, rang up as not for sale. Guy asked manager and manager quickly grabbed the book and told me he has to take it to the back and destroy it. I started laughing at this point.

Oh well.
 
Got denied by a manager. Must have carried 40 lbs of books up to front. Even offered to pay an overpriced REORC which I forgot that the sale was over. It was a good workout though.
 
Never understand why some of you guys grab massive piles. Its tough enough to get a few, if you grab a mega pile they're gonna know you're in the know, and deny you.
 
[quote name='warboss zorbag']Never understand why some of you guys grab massive piles. Its tough enough to get a few, if you grab a mega pile they're gonna know you're in the know, and deny you.[/QUOTE]

Whether you have one or a hundred, if a manager has decided to enforce the policy, he will. It has nothing to do with whether or not he thinks you're "in the know."
 
[quote name='Richard Longfellow']Whether you have one or a hundred, if a manager has decided to enforce the policy, he will. It has nothing to do with whether or not he thinks you're "in the know."[/QUOTE]

That's so not true.

If you walk up with 1 guide, he might just let it slide. If you walk up with 100, it's probably a no go.

Even best buy managers can detect obnoxious greed when they see it.

The last guide I got might have been Dragon Age 2. There were 20 guides on the shelf. It rang up as "cannot sell" or whatever. Since I only had one, the manager just said "take it."

If I had taken all 20, I doubt he'd have let me take it.
 
[quote name='confoosious']That's so not true.

If you walk up with 1 guide, he might just let it slide. If you walk up with 100, it's probably a no go.

Even best buy managers can detect obnoxious greed when they see it.

The last guide I got might have been Dragon Age 2. There were 20 guides on the shelf. It rang up as "cannot sell" or whatever. Since I only had one, the manager just said "take it."

If I had taken all 20, I doubt he'd have let me take it.[/QUOTE]

I agree. They may be corporate robots but they're still flesh and blood. I think.
 
[quote name='Richard Longfellow']Whether you have one or a hundred, if a manager has decided to enforce the policy, he will. It has nothing to do with whether or not he thinks you're "in the know."[/QUOTE]

There's no way in hell you really believe that. Seriously...

Every single time anyone one at work has ever come up with a massive pile of duplicate anything's they're up to no good. No one in the world has a legitimate need for 15 copies of.the same strategy guide .

I always follow the same rule on penny guides. Grab a few different ones and something small like a headset or something I need,, put it all on the counter and act stupid.
 
Good Haul in Denver yesterday for me and my friend. We had been to 3 other BB's in search of the Game of Thrones Blu with the Lannister cover and in the midst of that I forgot to grab a copy of Argo. So we decided to stop at another BB that was close by.

We each got 1 of the CE Guides except for AC:Rev (and I didn't get a Gears 3 cuz I didn't want another). And got a few of the various softcovers (DoA, Prototype 2, Xcom, Silent Hill, Max Payne). Manager just transferred them out of inventory and said to take them. The loss prevention guy told us as we left "Score!". :lol:
 
[quote name='confoosious']That's so not true.

If you walk up with 1 guide, he might just let it slide. If you walk up with 100, it's probably a no go.

Even best buy managers can detect obnoxious greed when they see it.

The last guide I got might have been Dragon Age 2. There were 20 guides on the shelf. It rang up as "cannot sell" or whatever. Since I only had one, the manager just said "take it."

If I had taken all 20, I doubt he'd have let me take it.[/QUOTE]

Remember though, it used to be clean ... they would ring up as $0.01 and that's what you paid. The new way they're ringing up red alerts that they're no supposed to be sold.

It was good while it lasted - this is the end of penny guides for me!
 
yah sadly back in the old days before they got heavy on the destroying you could just go up with piles and piles. i remember they had over 20+ different guides drop back in 07 or 08 it was. me and my gf both grabbed as much as are arms could carry and walked out no issues. now with the changes i wont even try more then 1 or 2 guides. if i get through no issues ill have my gf grab one or two others.
 
the gamestop that holds the guides for me was able to hold a max payne 3 for me but the two guild wars guides that were there a week ago were brought before they cold hold them. darn it lol
 
[quote name='warboss zorbag']There's no way in hell you really believe that. Seriously...

Every single time anyone one at work has ever come up with a massive pile of duplicate anything's they're up to no good. No one in the world has a legitimate need for 15 copies of.the same strategy guide .

I always follow the same rule on penny guides. Grab a few different ones and something small like a headset or something I need,, put it all on the counter and act stupid.[/QUOTE]

You're completely missing the point, or avoiding it. This has nothing to do with a value judgement against the person buying the guide. Since the crackdown and the removal of the .01 markdown, "pennied" guides cannot be sold. It will require a manager's approval each time, and if he's following protocol, he will deny you. He can get in trouble with BB corporate and the publishers if he lets one or a hundred go. Small quantities and padding the sale don't make a difference.
 
Exactly, its at the managers discretion.

The manager is far more apt to let the dude have a guide who has real items on his order and doesn't have a massive pile of the same things.

The person behaving like a real customer, not a douche bag.
 
[quote name='Richard Longfellow']You're completely missing the point, or avoiding it. This has nothing to do with a value judgement against the person buying the guide. Since the crackdown and the removal of the .01 markdown, "pennied" guides cannot be sold. It will require a manager's approval each time, and if he's following protocol, he will deny you. He can get in trouble with BB corporate and the publishers if he lets one or a hundred go. Small quantities and padding the sale don't make a difference.[/QUOTE]

You seriously think that a manager, when making up his mind whether or not to allow something outside of policy, does not take into account whether you have 1 guide or 100 guides? Are you mental?
 
Went to pick up Argo, saw the final fantasy 13-2 CE and got it for free at bestbuy, manager told me happy holidays! Also set up a guild wars 2 CE for instore pick up, they said it was ready and when I got there they couldn't find it since they had Been pennied out and the system count wasn't changed
 
Found several guides at my best buy. Took a few, one of each only, up to the register. They all came up Not for Sale. The lady didn't know what to do, called over the other cashier, who them proceeded to tell her they were a penny and that they were for sale as he had bought a bunch of them not long ago. They called over another guy to try and figure out how to scan them, but couldn't. Finally, they called who I think was a manager who said she could not sell them because it would take her 2 hours to talk to some people in inventory or something. The cashier who admitted to buying them at a penny himself seemed genuinely disappointed that I couldn't get them for a penny. I feel like I was so close, but got denied at the last second, oh well... He also mentioned that it wasn't just him buying them at a penny but others as well. I'll have to be more vigilant and go the day they drop at around the same time and try to get rung up by him, mentioning that I left some guides behind of course.
 
Tried another best buy today because I really want a single copy of the FF13-2 collector's guide to go with my FF13-2 collectors game.

Same song different verse though :(

Not for sale, manager called in and says can't be sold.
 
[quote name='dfg']I hit three BBs on my way to work today, and all 3 times they wouldn't ring up, so I SOL'd. Oh wells.[/QUOTE]

They will never "ring up". It's YMMV whether or not they will just give them to you or deny completely.
 
i found a guild wars 2 guide on my way to work. i wanted to find a second one but this will do. this along with the max payne i scored yesturday makes this hunt of the recent drops a nice one for me. cant wait for more !
 
Guild Wars 2 LE Guide is pennied at Best Buy? I thought it was only pennied at Gamestop. My Best Buy had 1 Guild Wars 2 LE guide that was never sold or pulled and since EVERY guide that got pennied was pulled at my Best Buy I assumed it wasn't pennied.

If it is pennied then I'll jump all over that.
 
[quote name='Captain Urahara']Guild Wars 2 LE Guide is pennied at Best Buy? I thought it was only pennied at Gamestop. My Best Buy had 1 Guild Wars 2 LE guide that was never sold or pulled and since EVERY guide that got pennied was pulled at my Best Buy I assumed it wasn't pennied.

If it is pennied then I'll jump all over that.[/QUOTE]

I don't think so, I price checked it last week and it was full price. Unless someone else says differently...
 
[quote name='blinknot4']BradyGames official site has the Red Dead Redemption GOTY LE Guide up for $20.99. I just bought a copy.

This has been difficult to find online for a long time now. I have actually seen this fetch about $150 on eBay. Even Amazon resellers have the price jacked up.[/QUOTE]
Check your order summary. I ordered one in January and it is listed as backordered on my status.
 
[quote name='PapaSmerf']Check your order summary. I ordered one in January and it is listed as backordered on my status.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the heads up. Still says 'in process' but that could be cuz I only ordered it yesterday. I'll keep my eye on it...
 
[quote name='ZeroUnderOne']Tried another best buy today because I really want a single copy of the FF13-2 collector's guide to go with my FF13-2 collectors game.

Same song different verse though :(

Not for sale, manager called in and says can't be sold.[/QUOTE]

Try a gamestop. I managed to nab the last one they had still sealed and pennied.
 
[quote name='detectiveconan16']J&R is selling Mario Kart 7's guide for $5. J&R's always had better prices for guides, and I remember buying the FF8 guide there ten years ago. At least they know to clearance them out properly.[/QUOTE]

They also have the following:

$2.99
Game of Thrones
The Darkness II

$4.99
Max Payne 3
Prototype 2
Ninja Gaiden 3
 
I've been so jealous of CAG's lately with all their luck with guides since I've had a dry spell for several months now. Today I went to Gamestop and got Max Payne 3for free. Then I went to Best buy and found Uncharted 3, Uncharted 3 CE, and Xcom buried behind several other guides. I took the Uncharted CE and Xcom up. After a 10 minute wait and several managers discussing it, they gave me the guides with the condition that they cut the back page off. Fortunately the Uncharted CE guide has a piece of paper with the sku so they just removed that paper.
 
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Went to GameStop and managed to get my best haul yet (11 guides). I initially took up only 1 of each of the guides I found since they had denied me the last couple times. When the cashier didn't deny me, I asked if I could get the duplicates I left behind and he agreed, so I managed to get 11 guides total. I did hear the other cashier apologize to him as I left with the stack of guides, although he told the other cashier not to worry about it. I really should update my post on the trade topic...
 
[quote name='IndelibleSin']Went to GameStop and managed to get my best haul yet (11 guides). I initially took up only 1 of each of the guides I found since they had denied me the last couple times. When the cashier didn't deny me, I asked if I could get the duplicates I left behind and he agreed, so I managed to get 11 guides total. I did hear the other cashier apologize to him as I left with the stack of guides, although he told the other cashier not to worry about it. I really should update my post on the trade topic...[/QUOTE]
Picture or it didn't happen, just kidding. Congrats
 
I was able to get a Guild Wars 2 LE guide today at Gamestop. Went to one really far away because I had other business in the area. Anyway, I go in to trade in one of my many copies of The Sims 3 and ask about some other games, like Metroid Other M. Then I tell them I'm after the Guild Wars. They give the usual spiel about pennied out guides. Still, they go into the back and find one. They just give it to me, so long as I don't tell corporate that they helped me out, even though they didn't need to. Like I would have gone to corporate after they helped me. Other M was gutted, and so I had no interest, but I couldn't tell them no after they gave me the guide. I'll return it somewhere down the line.
 
haha pretty funny seeing how getting ~10 or so guides is now a huge come up. (not saying its not...these days it DEFFF is.) I remember back when Best Buy had actual penny guides that rang up a penny I would regularly get ~30 or so guides a drop lol and I havnt even been a CAG that long. Man those were the days...guide hunting was so fun.

Managed to pick up a Kingdom of Amalaur guide today at GS
 
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